Medical assistants work in the offices of physicians and other health care professionals, as well as in hospitals. They complete administrative tasks related to patient medical records, billing, and scheduling office visits. They sometimes also perform basic clinical tasks such as measuring and recording blood pressure, height and weight. Postsecondary courses of between one and two years are available for this profession, but many medical office assistants have only a high school diploma and are trained on the job.

Average Wages and Salary

Medical assistants working in the United States earned an average wage of $14.69 an hour and an average salary of $30,550 per year as of May 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of all medical assistants made between $24,940 and $35,380 per year, while the highest-paid 10 percent reported annual salaries of $41,570 or more.

Salary by State

In general, medical assistants working in the Northeast and West earned more than those in other parts of the country, while those employed in the Southeast earned the least. Alaska reported the very highest average salary, $39,900 per year, followed by the District of Columbia at $37,800, Massachusetts at $37,210, and Washington at $35,330. The very lowest-paying states, West Virginia and Alabama, paid medical assistants an average of between $24,000 and $25,000 per year.

Salary by Facility Type

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over half of all medical assistants were employed in physicians offices, where they brought home an average salary of $30,740 per year. Those employed in the offices of health care providers other than physicians averaged $27,420 per year. Medical assistants employed by general hospitals averaged $31,750 per year, while those employed by outpatient care centers earned an average of $31,980. Medical assistants employed by psychiatric and substance-abuse hospitals made the most, an average of $42,250 per year, while those working in other types of specialty hospitals brought home an average of $35,080 annually.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for medical office assistants is good, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the American economy is expected to add jobs at an average rate of 14 percent between 2010 and 2020, positions for medical assistants are expected to grow at a rate of 31 percent, as the health care industry grows to keep up with demands for services. This high rate of growth is expected to produce 162,900 new medical assisting jobs by 2020.